The handshake between US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during their participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit sparked widespread reactions on social media platforms.

The US president was seen giving Macron a strong and prolonged handshake lasting about 30 seconds, with Trump gripping Macron’s hand firmly, prompting Macron to respond with equal firmness.

A widely circulated video in Egypt showed the tension on Macron’s face as he tried unsuccessfully to pull his hand away from Trump’s grip initially.

This handshake took place during the official welcome before the signing session of the plan to end the war in Gaza, which resulted in a ceasefire on October 10 and includes the release of prisoners and reconstruction efforts.

The handshake triggered a wave of social media interactions in Egypt, where users shared videos of the moment under hashtags like #TrumpMacronHandshake and #SharmElSheikhSummit, with sarcastic comments linking it to the “symbol of American power” or “iron fist diplomacy.”

Comments described the handshake moment as a “comical moment in a historic summit,” while others saw it as an expression of diplomatic tensions between Washington and Paris over US policy in the Middle East.

This was not the first time Trump shook Macron’s hand this way; he had done a similar move multiple times before, including a firm handshake during the NATO summit in Brussels in 2017, where they held each other’s hands for nearly half a minute.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit, held in the Egyptian city, was jointly sponsored by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US President Donald Trump to sign a comprehensive plan to end the more than two-year war in the Gaza Strip, focusing on resuming the regional peace process, rebuilding Gaza, and ensuring security and political stability in the region.

The US president’s plan to end the war in Gaza includes 20 points starting with a permanent ceasefire, the release of all prisoners, reconstruction of Gaza, and resuming the regional peace process with a focus on security stability in the Middle East.

The summit was attended by leaders and representatives from more than 30 countries and regional and international organizations including the United Nations and the Arab League, with participants from France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Turkey, and Pakistan.